Moose have a broken pin that connects the coupler box to the passenger car. Haven't been able to find a part number for this pin. It's smaller than a truck bolster pin which is all Moose can seem to find on the Micro-Trains website. Can any one help a poor moose figure out how to get replacement pins?
Ha ha ha, Mr Funny Man ... Ya'know, Moose could order a small stampede crew over your way... Jus' sayin'...
Except, when they are not... ... Moose has over two dozen Micro-Train passenger coaches purchased new in the last 1-2 years, all with body mounted coupler boxes attached with plastic pins. See attached photos.
Moose - The newer MT boxcars have a body mount retained by a plastic pin. If you can push out the old pin, you can get a new pin from MT or use an MT screw as Hardcoaler suggests, (screw needs a tapped hole). - Tonkphilip
MT doesn't appear to have a replacement pin listed on their website. Moose sent a message to them asking about how to get a replacement pin. If the screw diameter is the same size as the pin diameter and therefore will properly hold the coupler securely in place, then Moose will try filling the hole and tapping for a screw. Just was hoping that someone else had experienced this issue before Moose and therefore had a pin replacement... Just Moose's luck, to have problems no one else has dealt with...
The screw would then self-tap through the coupler box as well, so then the concern would be whether or not the screw would interfere with the coupler mechanism and if not what wee screw and where to get it ... Hopefully Micro-Trains has some replacement pins to sell Moose.
You should be able to use a common 00-90 screw. MT will have them in stock. Also, most hobby shops will have a small rack of packages in various lengths to choose from. Be careful of cast screws, as they can have flashing which will hog out plastic as they are tightened. You want them as made by machining. I would recommend you buy a tap and use that, rather than relying on any self tapping by the screw. You could easily strip out too nuch material when tightening, and then would have a problem.
Moose has said screws and a tap set, so will check. If using a screw with small enough thread diameter such that the threads do not interfere with the coupler mechanism, then this is an option. Although, would lose any resistance to coupler box rotation that the original coupler pin itself provided -- only the friction between the box and shell surfaces would then resist rotation, which might not be a big concern...
You should be able to tighten the screw enough to stop any rotation. I would suppose that over time, one could loosen slightly, enough to move. Then a very TINY drop of CA, carefully applied to one edge of the coupler box, where it meets that car underframe should stop that issue. But I do mean TINY drop.
Good idear ... Please remember that Moose all hooves, so if the screw isn't too tight causing damage then the "tiny" drop of CA will be "not so tiny".
Just talked with a Micro-Trains representative and a hoof-full (very small hoof in this case) of replacement coupler mount pins have been ordered! And some brake wheels for an RPO car that had none ... and a pack of interiors for a passenger car that hadn't one. Moose had bought some unassembled car kits at a swap meet just before Covid hit, so these parts may have gone missing before Moose acquired them ... Then again, Moose's work desk is cluttered, sooo...
Somehow, I knew you would get satisfaction from MT. Years ago, I made a comment in another forum about how I only used MT couplers for knuckles (I actually started converting in 1968 when they first appeared) and they sent me six cars of various types. Doug
